Following a brief discussion of the value of poetry for gifted children, this paper outlines activities in a poetry unit for gifted children of middle school age. Addressed directly to students, the unit is divided into the following sections: (1) a list of behavioral objectives, which relate to responding to poetry, understanding poetic…

Part of a series on selected aspects of curriculum development, this monograph contains reading conference proceedings that include an opening address by author Marguerite Henry in which she shares personal experiences in her evolution as a writer and six papers on remedial reading and language arts. The first paper describes the neurological…

AN EFFECTIVE AND PLEASANT THERAPEUTIC EFFECT CAN BE PRODUCED BY ENCOURAGING EMOTIONALLY-DISTURBED ADOLESCENTS TO LOOK AT, WORK WITH, AND WRITE UNRESTRICTEDLY ABOUT NATURAL BEAUTY. THEIR OCCASIONAL UNRESPONSIVENESS IS CHANGED TO WILLINGNESS AND THEIR CREATIVE EFFORTS ARE RE-DIRECTED FROM EXPRESSIONS OF FEAR AND DESPAIR AS THEY OBSERVE COLORFUL…

The significance of authors' reading notes may lie not only in their mechanical function as information storage devices providing raw materials for writing, but also in their ability to concentrate and to mobilize the latent emotional and creative resources of their keepers. This document examines records of reading found in the published…

This book attempts to present a consensus about the teaching of English in junior high and middle schools (students aged 8-13). The book is concerned with presenting a theoretical framework and an indication of where to begin and how to proceed with the teaching of English. Chapters deal with various aspects of English, including poetry, fiction,…

This special issue of "The Leaflet" focuses on various aspects of composition. Included are articles on such topics as writing instruction as a process, not a product; technical writing in high school; using "junk" material to stimulate creative writing; discovering one's own voice in writing; teaching writing to high school students by instilling…

This booklet is intended to help people establish goals, objectives, activities, and evaluation tools for teaching elementary writing. The following topics are discussed: practical writing, invention, writing games, voice, personal writing, strategies and techniques teachers can use to enhance personal writing, teaching grammar and writing,…

Designed for kindergarten through grade three, the material in this volume of the "Curriculum Guide for the Language Arts" is organized by grades with provision for use in a continuous or nongraded organization. An introductory section outlines the general language arts program, noting specifically the characteristics of the primary child, the…

This paper argues that the immediate reason for the decline in literacy in our colleges is the shift from an emphasis on the traditional discipline required in construction to an emphasis on spontaneity in writing. Of the four phases of the creative process (preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification), only verification should be…

Poems, of a wide variety, which are carefully selected to serve as springboards for discussion for low ability, lower-middle-class high school students can aid in developing individual student taste and interest in poetry. Viewing poetic devices within specific poems (rather than as isolated phenomena), encouraging student attempts at writing…

Excerpts from the addresses of 14 symposium contributors are presented. Relevant to the theme "Reading and the Individual," the necessity for encouraging creativity in learning and in teaching was stressed in three articles, and the threat to the individual's freedoms posed by today's society was discussed in one article. Creativity in writing and…

The writing of students at colleges of education about their teaching experiences and the writing done for them by children in infant and junior schools comprise this account of attempts to answer such questions as "What makes children want to write?" and "What is the relation between a writer's experience and imagination?" Excerpts from college…

Some reflections upon how writers learn to write are presented in an analogy with learning to swim, offering implications for the teaching of composition. The "simplicity" of the act of writing is contrasted with the "complexity" discovered by literary analysis. Two of the author's poems are used as examples. (AF)

Effective classroom teaching in Appalachia, as well as in other rural areas, may (1) center on a theme familiar to the students in teaching literature; (2) involve students in socio-drama to help them recognize their identities, empathize with others, and clarify their values; (3) take advantage of the students' culturally acquired predispositions…

This updated version reflects current concerns regarding preschool and elementary education and the acquisition of language by children. It suggests creative ways of teaching the language arts and bases them on educational research and theory. Chapters deal with "Teaching English,""Language Study,""The Young Child's Language,""Spelling and Reading…